You are here

Farm Market

June 2, 2010

Farm Market

Shop for treasures from local Etsy vendors at this Saturday’s Lowcountry Artist Market

WRITTEN BY Anna Evans

When Music Farm general manager Kristen Gastaldo began planning her September 2009 nuptials, she quickly found that handmade arts, crafts, and fashion mecca Etsy.com was the place to go for unique—and affordable—wedding day accessories. The site makes it easy to search for artists in your area, and Gastaldo’s success with crafty creators of everything from bouquet charms to parasols led her to a great idea: gather local Etsy vendors for a day-long shopping event featuring wares of all kinds.

This Saturday, June 5, the first Lowcountry Artist Market at Music Farm will host 42 booths of vintage clothing, baby accessories, jewelry, handbags, quilts, framed art, home décor, stationery, and more. “I sent messages to the 100 most frequently updated shops on Etsy, and the response was overwhelming,” says Gastaldo. Among the sellers are names you’ll recognize—painter Sally Bennett, Deirdre Zahl of Candy Shop Vintage, construction paper artist Jonathan Miller, wood-turner Ashley Harwood—but you’ll also meet a slew of new creatives.

“This is an opportunity for local vendors to get off the Internet and onto the street, making face-to-face connections with customers and networking with other artists,” says Gastaldo. And considering that patrons will have a wealth of one-of-a-kind goods to peruse with drinks from the bar in hand, they’re sure to fare pretty well themselves. If you’re tied up this Saturday, look out for future markets at the Farm, as Gastaldo hopes to make the event a quarterly, or even monthly, affair.